1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a multipurpose rope clamp which may be fixed firmly to a support such as a boat hull or a truck box, the rope clamp acting to clamp the rope firmly in one position while allowing easy adjustment of the rope to tighten it or loosen it, or unfixed (i.e. not attached to a support) to suspend an article from a rail.
2. Acknowledgement of Prior Art
Such a rope clamp may be used where frequent adjustments of the rope are required, for example for suspension of a boat fender. Boat fenders are often suspended from a horizontal rail of a boat to dangle against the side of the boat so as to protect the side of the boat from damage when approaching a dock or other structure. The length of rope between the horizontal rail of the boat and the fender is dependent upon the level of the dock or other structure and may need adjustment for structures at different levels. Moreover, the setting of such fenders must frequently be readjusted since they are frequently untied and brought inboard when not required for use.
Another example of a situation where easy adjustment of the rope in the clamp is required with firm clamping of the rope between adjustments, is for progressive tightening of a tyer by means of a tie-down. Tie-downs frequently operate by means of frictional clamping of webbing positioned in a tortuous path so that, in one position, friction of the webbing against itself prevents loosening of the tyer and, in another position, the tyer may be tightened.
Various devices are available for winding webbing in a tortuous path for use as tie-downs but all of those known to the applicants require careful slotting of the webbing through a buckle in a preset path. Some devices are available as adjustable clamps for ropes. Exemplary of adjustable rope clamps are those described in U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,498 issued to Llewellyn Parsons on Aug. 23, 1994 and U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,791 issued to Llewellyn Parsons on Jan. 28, 1997. Of these, U.S. Pat. No. 5,339,498 describes a rope clamp in which the rope is looped around an object and is allowed to pull freely through the clamp in one direction but is held against movement in the other direction. The rope clamp of U.S. Pat. No. 5,596,791 is a rail fender hanger which hangs loosely on a horizontal rail to adjustably clamp a rope therein. More recently, Canadian Patent Application No. 2,224,363 describes a rope clamp which may be used as a tie down.